[COMPLETED] Poppies and Roses: A Flower Husbands Fanfiction

Chapter 2 - Nightmares

CW: nightmares about abuse

When I wake up, I know something is off. The sounds of my village have disappeared and I can feel that someone is carrying me.

I open my eyes and am immediately blinded by the sun. I wince, and someone speaks. "Good morning sleepyhead," they say. "How're you feeling?"

As my eyes adjust to the sun, I realize it's the teal-haired boy that's carrying me. He has teal eyes to match his hair and looks to be about my age.

"What happened?" I ask. "Where are we?"

The boy sets me down. As we start walking again, he says, "Well, someone saw you heal me, so I got us both out of there. I'm sorry, but you can't go back now."

I'm quiet for a minute. I've never left my village before. Even though I'm not particularly attached to anyone or anything there, I still feel a pang of homesickness.

"My name's Scott, by the way," the boy says, startling me. I'd almost forgotten he was there.

"I'm Jimmy," I reply.

"Nice to meet you Jimmy."

We go quiet again until I ask a question that's been nagging at me. "Why did you save me?"

"You saved my life, so I figured it was only fair I saved yours. Besides, I couldn't just leave you there. You weren't even awake to defend yourself."

"How did you save me?"

"Oh, I just strangled the people who tried to stop me with vines."

I freeze and stare at him. I'm not sure if he's joking or not. Scott notices I've stopped walking and turns to face me, laughing at my expression.

"You're not serious, are you?" I can't help but ask.

"Oh no, I'm completely serious," Scott responds. "Plant manipulation sounds like a boring power on paper, but it's actually pretty useful."

I just nod and we start walking again. As the sun starts to dip below the horizon, a question occurs to me that I honestly should have thought about earlier. "Where are we going?"

Scott shrugs. "Anywhere away from humans," he says. Then he points to something in the distance. "That river canyon would be a good place to stay. Why don't we check it out?"

The canyon is full of flowers. Lilacs and tulips and so many poppies. There are two small caves across from each other.

"We can each have our own cave," Scott says. "How about you start a fire and find some food while I get some little houses set up?"

It doesn't take me long to start a fire. By the time Scott is done setting up each of our houses, I'm done preparing mushroom stew.

"They're so cute!" I say, looking at the little hobbit holes. "Thanks," Scott replies. "I'll take the blue one and you can have the wood one."

Once we're done eating our stew (which is surprisingly quite good), I stare into the fire. The feeling of homesickness has come back again.

"Miss your friends and family?" Scott asks with a sympathetic look.

"I actually don't have any real friends," I say, trying to keep my voice neutral. "I'm the kid who everyone else picked on and called names. The only family I have is my mother. And I'd bet on my life that she's glad I'm gone, now that she knows I'm an unnatural."

I avoid Scott's gaze in an effort to hide the tears that are threatening to spill. But then he puts an arm around me, pulling me closer to him. I lean into the touch, grateful for the reminder that I'm not alone. I've known Scott for less than a day, but he's already the closest friend I've ever had.

"You know, I barely remember my family," Scott murmurs. "I found out about my powers when I was seven. I accidentally made a ton of poppies appear, and my parents were furious. So I ran away."

"You've been on the run since you were seven?" I ask, horrified.

"Yeah, well, I've always been pretty independent, so it wasn't as bad as it could've been," he replies.

"But that's means you've been on the run for-" I pause, realizing I don't know his age. "How old are you now?"

"Almost 18," he says. "I've been on my own for 10 years."

Holy moly. 10 years is a long time.

"It's getting late," Scott remarks. I glance up and see he's right. The sun has completely set and it's starting to get chilly.

"I'll probably head off to bed then," I say reluctantly. I don't want to leave Scott, but I don't want him to think I'm clingy either. Besides, maybe a good night's sleep will help me feel better.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

I've had nightmares before, but nothing this bad. In the dream, my mother is yelling at me, telling me to leave. I keep begging her to let me stay, promising I'll never use my powers again. But she won't listen. "You're no son of mine!" she screams. "You're an unnatural!"

I wake up with tears running down my face. As far as I can tell, it's still night. A feeling of desperate loneliness engulfs me. Before I know it, I'm walking over to Scott's hobbit hole.

I hesitate at his door. Maybe it would be better if I just went back to bed. But even the thought of being by myself for the rest of the night makes me want to start crying again.

I open the door as quietly as possible and tiptoe into Scott's bedroom. I pause again before lifting up the covers.

Scott opens his eyes, and I freeze. "Jimmy, what's wrong?" he asks.

"It's just-never mind. It's nothing, I'm just being silly."

"Jimmy, what is it?" Scott asks again, more sternly this time.

"I've never been on my own before," I mutter, "and I was feeling kinda lonely."

Scott immediately moves over on the bed. After a moment, I slip under the covers and Scott pulls me close to him. From my position, I can feel his heartbeat. I'm glad it's dark so he can't see me blushing.

Scott's closeness calms me down, and soon, I fall asleep.